Photo: Deep Space Exploration Laboratory
Chinese scientists have made a breakthrough in mapping the chemical composition of the Moon by building an artificial intelligence-based model using measured data from the first sample collected on the far side of the Moon by the Chang’e-6 mission. The model, for the first time, integrates real information from the far side of the Moon into a global chemical composition map, offering new insights into the Moon’s asymmetry and the evolution of the South Pole’s Aitken Basin, Science and Technology Daily reported Sunday, citing the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory.
The research results, achieved by a joint team of scientists from Tongji University, Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shandong University and Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, were recently published as a cover article in the third issue of the international academic journal Nature Sensors.
The research team developed a smart inversion framework for lunar chemical composition based on measured data from the first samples collected on the far side of the Moon by the Chang’e-6 mission, combined with high-resolution visible multispectral imaging data in the near-infrared from lunar orbit.
The AI accurately reconstructed the distribution of oxides of six major elements on the Moon (iron, titanium, aluminum, magnesium, calcium and silicon), as well as the magnesium index, even under limited sample conditions.
The study clearly maps the elemental distribution characteristics of three major geochemical regions on the Moon’s surface, including the lunar mare, the highlands, and the South Pole Aitken Basin.
For the first time, the study quantitatively reveals that the exposure ratio of magnesium anorthosite and magnesium rock assemblage in the highlands of the far side of the Moon is significantly higher than that on the near side of the Moon, providing new empirical evidence for the hypothesis of asymmetric crystallization and differentiation of the lunar magma ocean.
Meanwhile, the study precisely delineates the boundary between the magnesium pyroxene ring and the iron-rich anomaly zone in the South Pole’s Aitken Basin, confirming that the impact that formed the basin exposed a broader range of deeply rooted magnesium-rich materials.
The study advances human knowledge of the structure of the Moon and the evolution of the South Pole Aitken Basin, while providing precise chemical data for future lunar landings, resource exploration, and deep space mission planning. The achievement represents a key breakthrough in China’s lunar science, providing a foundation for the continued advancement of China’s lunar exploration program.
Global times